Idols of Clay Feet
by Pureblood-Slytherins
Summary: Leia wants to buy a certain portrait but finds out that she is not the only one interested in it. Leia x Thrawn.


**Idols on Clay Feet**

**Chapter 1**

**A/N:** Another typical fanfiction plot device to couple a pair that is very unlikely to ever fall in love is…yes…one person is hurt and needs help. Why has nobody done this before? *sob* So, what do we write today? Will it be a crash-landing? Or an explosion in the Senate or during the Empire Day parade? Or in an art gallery? Or an art auction? Or a xenophobic attack against Thrawn? A military coup from enemies within the Empire? The problem is I do not only need a cause, but also a fitting surrounding for this to work…Hmm… A bank robbery? No, makes no sense at all. Or Leia needs help? Imprisoned by Prince Xizor? Or still Jabba's slave girl? Or just an accident. So many ideas. Ahh…Well… I guess I just start and then try to piece it all together.

****IDOLS ON CLAY FEET****

"The auction is open now."

An older, bold man in a black suit said. He stood on a pedestal, behind a speaker desk, and looked down on the potential buyers in front of him. They were in one of the smaller rooms of the Alderaanian palace. There were two large windows on the right, framed in baroque gold. The pastel-coloured walls were partially covered with leather- and flower-wallpapers and the lavishly painted ceiling, was somewhat reminiscent of old temples and prayer houses.

There were six rows of gold chairs on which many rich people, or their delegates, sat. Most of them were dressed in smart black and white combinations, with a comlink ready in hand.

As soon as the auction had opened, at least 40 hands shot in the air and the people immediately made their bids.

"Five-hundred."

"A thousand."

"Two thousand."

_Sith! Two thousand for the small silver coffee set? That were a lot of credits!_

"Going once...going twice... and sold to the lady with the number 32."

Applause broke out and the woman smiled, before she confirmed something on the comlink.

Leia's eyes grew wide. Two thousand credits…. Briefly she wondered for whom these people were working. _Bankers? Entrepreneurs? Artists? Aristocrats? Politicians?... Criminals?_

She scanned the mass and when the auctioneer saw her face, he couldn't suppress a satisfied smile. James Hapstedt had a history of working for the Organas. He was responsible for all the artworks in the palace and for the exhibitions in the Royal Gallery. He was almost a part of the family and Leia had grown up with him. He was nice, but still….James was also somewhat eccentric and Leia just wasn't sure how much she liked the man. She smiled back and then shyly looked down at the dark, wooden floor and her white shoes. She was here as a personal representative of the House Organa, but – the Princess scanned the auction list once more – she was also interested in a special object herself.

The auction went on for another 30 minutes before, finally, an oil painting was presented that was of particular interest to the young woman.

"Our next piece is 'The Queen of Naboo'."

Two young men carried the painting inside and put it on display left to James.

The painting itself was beautiful. It showed a sunny day at the lake district and in its centre was no other than the young Queen and later Senator of Naboo, Padmé Amidala, in a light, pastel-coloured summer dress. She had been so young then, but had already devotedly served her people and she had also been a beauty, even at that age. That, however, was not the reason why the young Alderaanian princess was interested in the painting. Padmé Amidala had been one of her father's close friends and she had literally grown up with the tales of this woman, who, apparently, had been one of the first to sign the petition of the 2000 against Palpatine. Secretly, Padmé Amidala had become some sort of role model for Leia and now she wanted to own a piece of her.

"The auction is officially open." James said again.

Just like before, the people went wild, only that the starting price was much higher this time.

"Fifteen-hundred."

"Twenty-hundred."

Time and again, Leia lifted her number plate – 13, but soon realised that she would not be able to buy that piece. _Sith, this was crazy! Were all these people as fascinated with the late Queen as she was? Or was the artist famous?_

The bidding went on.

"Half a million."

And on.

"20 million credits."

A collective murmur went through the rooms. There were only three bidders left.

"20 million. Going once...going twice..."

"Do I see 25 million? Yes, I do! 25 million for the man with the number 11."

"Going once...going twice... and sold to the lucky number 11!" James smiled broadly.

"And now to the moss paintings."

The bidding started again, but Leia didn't listen anymore.

_25 million credits?! Who had that much money?_ Quite a few people actually came into her mind, but those were not likely to spend their money on art!

_Number 11…who are you working for?_

After the auction the young Princess stayed behind until all the bidders had gone and then approached James.

"A rather successful auction, wouldn't you agree, your highness?"

"Quite so." She smiled playfully.

"James…" She mindlessly flipped through the auction's holocatalogue. "…that painting of Queen Amidala. Who bought it?"

The old man laughed.

"I noticed your interest. But it's usually not a good idea to have dealings with a Grand Admiral."

"A Grand Admiral?" Leia asked surprised.

"That's right, your highness. The painting was sold to Grand Admiral Thrawn today. He has quite an impressive collection, if I may say so."

Curious, Leia thought. _An Imperial War Lord that was interested in a painting of Queen Amidala. Why?_ He was probably just interested in 'owing' something expensive. Grand Admiral…..Those people earned more than they should and probably had no idea how to spend all their money. So, why not in art? Still.. she had a strange gut-feeling about this…Grand Admiral Thrawn. _What a strange name..._

"Thank you, James."

"Don't."

"I know that look, Princess. Just don't."

As it turned out, James had been right to worry. Grand Admiral Thrawn. That name had been on Leia's mind all afternoon. And finally, after all her duties as crown-princess had been done, and those duties had been plentiful – from opening a shopping mall, over a short Interview with a photoshoot for a women's magazine to visiting a children's hospital -, Leia finally lay down on her bed, pulled a datapad over and searched the HoloNet for 'Grand Admiral Thrawn'. By the looks of it, her curiosity had been justified, as Thrawn was not the average Imperial commander. Not by a long shot. He was an alien, what in itself was almost unbelievable and he had no connections to the so-called Core-elite. Which meant one thing: That guy had to be pretty damn good in what he was doing. The following article all but supported that theory. Whatever Thrawn did, he succeeded. _How strange that she had never heard of him before!_ She knew most of the other Grand Admirals, some of them she had even met in person. But not this one. Leia chewed on her lower lip and then took a sip of warm herbal tea. He was quite handsome. Leia smiled and magnified his face. A bit too old, sure, but still…an attractive man. A rarity among the higher ranks of Imperial Navy. At least in her experience. Leia zoomed out again. And read on. He worked more or less in the Unknown Regions. She had no idea what Palaptine wanted there. Perhaps invade more planets? Acquire more space for his Human Empire? And why was this Thrawn helping him? As an alien he should know how the Empire treated non-humans. Or was it different in the Unknown Regions? And why was he, of all people, interested in a picture of Padmé Naberrie?

Despite better knowledge, Leia had made sure to be on Coruscant at the next public hearing of Imperial High Command and afterwards she made a point of meeting the Emperor's favourite non-human in the military. Well, it was not like Palpatine hated all non-humans. There was Mas Amedda, for example, who had always been a close friend of Palpatine and who was a member of the Imperial Council. Still, those non-humans in positions of power, were a noticeable exception.

_How to approach a Grand Admiral?_ That was the question. In her usual surroundings, things were easy, but this was Coruscant. Leia took a deep breath. She wasn't a Princess for nothing.

"I have it on good authority that you are in possession of something I want."

The blue-skinned alien turned around and studied her like a predator assessing a potential victim. There was definitely something frightening about the man in front of her. Something that told her to be cautious. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, but it was there, like an invisible threat or better…. a feeling…. Yes, this Grand Admiral did not wait for the enemy, he was the one who stroke first.

"Is that so?" He asked calmly.

What a voice. It was…special. Leia wasn't sure if it was the alieness of it, or just its velvetiness. It was quite unique. And the man was tall. About 1,90 meters, she guessed. His uniform was shining white, tailored and well cut and couldn't hide the power of the trained body underneath. A front-line Admiral, not a paper-pusher. No, Leia thought after a second, he was both. A strategist and a soldier, a fighter, a killer. His eyes were glowing red and whereas Leia had thought him handsome before, now she hesitated to do so again, as there was just too much wariness and calculation in his bearing. Or simply put: He was too dangerous. To avoid those eyes, Leia decided to focus on the curtain behind him. A trick her governess had taught her years ago.

"Yes, a painting. 'The Queen of Naboo'."

She held out her hand.

"Somehow unfortunate circumstances have prevented us from being formally introduced. Princess Leia of Alderaan."

"Your highness." He took her hand and swiftly brought it to his lips, startling her. It was not against protocol, she had just not imagined him doing so.

"That is correct, though I doubt that unfortunate circumstances have anything to do with it." There was a small smile on his lips. "Grand Admiral Thrawn, but you already knew that."

"Of course."

"So let me introduce you to someone you may not know." He tilted his head to the man standing next to him. "This is Colonel Wullf Yularen, from ISB."

Leia forced a smile on her face. _Great! ISB. She would be in so much trouble if her father were to find out about her new acquaintances._

"Colonel Yularen is an appreciated colleague and, if I may say so, a friend."

The old man smiled.

"Of course." He shook Leia's hand formally. "You see, the honour is all mine."

"Princess Leia." She said again.

"I know. Actually, it's my job to know."

"I shudder at the thought of what you people know. All these secrets. Is it true what they say? That Admiral Ozzel has a second wife on Zeltros?"

"That's an open secret, my dear and nowhere close to the really shocking details." Both laughed.

"I thought polygamy is illegal within the Empire." Thrawn stated.

"And so it is, my friend." Yularen said and took another sip of his drink.

Apparently, the Grand Admiral chose to ignore his last comment and then focused on Leia again.

"I saw your bidding for the painting."

"You SAW me?"

"There was a live stream for potential bidders." He explained and eyed her for another second.

"Are you interested in art, Princess?"

Leia took a glass rosé wine from one of the trays.

"I know a little. The Alderaanian Department of Arts is inside the palace and my family is head of the Royal Gallery. And of course, there are some originals in the palace too, but I am not an expert."

"If you are aware of your humility, you are not, in fact, humble."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You know a lot more than you let on, Princess. It is called 'false-humility', is it not?" He checked with Yularen, who nodded briefly.

"A strange human custom."

Yularen finished his drink.

"Yeah, we are a strange bunch. Well, if you two want to ramble on about paintings, I better get going. Believe me, I would have nothing to contribute to that kind of conversation." With that he left.

"Please excuse my friend, he is an otherwise quite agreeable person."

"We all have our flaws." Leia said.

"Indeed."

After that, Thrawn led her outside. On a balcony, from which they could look down on the city planet of Coruscant and at the far Manarai Mountains at the Eastern horizon.

"So if it is not your love for the arts, your interest in the picture has to be of personal nature, which is surprising, as you are too young to have known her."

"Yes, she died around the time I was born. But my father told me a lot about her and her honourable work. I hope to become just like her."

"Just like her?"

Thrawn looked into his glass and smiled.

"I wonder what senator Organa told you about her."

_What he had told her?_

"He told me that she was a dear friend, a fierce politician, who fought for the Republic and for what is right."

"That is true… of course. But you fail to see that all our idols stand on feet of clay." He looked at Leia for a second and then just said. "You are very young and have chosen a good idol, Princess. Padmé Amidala was all those things and more."

Apparently, he wanted to close the subject, but Leia couldn't let this opportunity pass by.

"Did you … did you _know_ her?"

"I was fortunate enough to have encountered her once, yes."

"How was she?" Leia rushed forward and didn't really know why.

"Very brave. A fighter and a good shot."

"Senator Amidala had a blaster?"

"Yes and she used it too. She and her boyfriend were the kind of people that attracted trouble."

"Her boyfriend?" Leia asked bewildered. "Senator Amidala was pregnant when she died, but none of the history books talk about the child's father. He is a mystery."

"A mystery? Far from it. As I said, all our idols stand on clay feet. Senator Amidala was in a romantic relationship with a famous Jedi knight of the time."

"But the Jedi were forbitten to form any kind of relationship!"

"Correct. But, Admiral Ozzel is hardly the only Human that does not care about rules when his personal life is concerned. And I guess there is always something exciting about the forbidden." He smiled.

"At first they tried to hide it from the Jedi-Council and after her death, the Emperor kept their relationship quiet in a last act of gallantry towards the former Senator. Connections to the Jedi were not to be talked about and he had been her mentor for a long time." He shrugged. "That is hardly a mystery."

Leia stared at the mountains. Her idol, her picture of the perfect senator, had cracked. She had not been perfect. Of course not, she was human, but did her father know about this? Her Jedi-Lover? He claimed that Padmé and he had been friends…then he should know, shouldn't he? And why did Thrawn know?

"Were you friends with Senator Amidala?"

"Hardly. Acquaintances at best."

Suddenly, Leia noticed that they were alone on the balcony.

"But they were not very good at hiding their feelings." Thrawn explained when he guessed her thoughts.

_This was all so weird and not at all why she had come here. She had come to…_

"If she wasn't a dear friend. Is there a chance I could buy the picture?"

"So you are still interested in it?"

"Of course, perhaps more so." Leia said, surprised by her own answer.

"I am afraid you have come in vain, Princess, for the picture was never intended for me."

"Is there any chance I could…"

"None."

Leia sighed. Not that she could have bought it, but perhaps it would have been possible to buy it over the Royal Gallery, as a new part of their collection. As state property so to speak. Well, it didn't matter anymore and at least she had tried.

"Thank you for your time, Grand Admiral. I found our chat to be most informative."

"That it was."

Six months had passed and to Leia's surprise, she couldn't quite forget her conversation with the Chiss. Nor could she bring up the courage to encounter her father with Thrawn's version of Senator Amidala, which may or may not be true. She was just afraid… and Leia wasn't really sure why. _That Thrawn was right and Padmé had not been perfect? That she had only been human? Or that her father had not known her as well as he had thought?_ Padmé Amidala might have been one of the first to sign the Petition of the 2000, but she also had been the one who helped Chancellor Palpatine to become Emperor. He had been her mentor, during her time as Queen and during her first years as Senator. _What if her father had made her to something larger than life? Nobody was perfect. And didn't they all stand on feet of clay?_

And then she saw it on the HoloNews, Padmé's portrait. It had been given to the National Gallery of Coruscant as a permanent loan by DARTH VADER?!

_How? Why?_

Her world started to spin.

_What was going on here? And what was it about Padmé Amidala?_

As Leia soon found out, seeing the Chiss again wasn't easy. He was almost never on the capitol; on art auctions he had his people and no one ever really knew what he was doing. Until, one day, the Senate had to grant the finances for his newest project, the TIE-defender. And then, all of a sudden, there were allegations of hostility and inhuman working conditions at the prototype's construction site. Of course, such allegations had to be pursued and who could be better for that task than Senator Leia Organa? After all, she was the daughter of one of his greatest adversaries. Unsurprisingly, her father had objected, but recently he was so occupied with whatever Tarkin and Director Krennic were working on, that it had become increasingly easy for Leia to slip off his radar. And so, the Princess was on her way to Vandor-1, were, high-up in the snowy mountains, an unimposing and comparably small Imperial factory was hidden.

At the landing platform, a courier picked her and her two senatorial bodyguards up and lead them, through a mild snow storm, to an uninviting grey construction site.

It was cold. Even inside. And it was loud and dirty. People were walking busily from one corner to another and there were tiny lorries too, that were constantly overtaking people from behind in dangerous maneuvers. Great… Leia's room was spartan, utilitarian and small, with only enough space for a bed, a desk and a pair of stools. It was neither royal nor welcoming, but it would do.

Unpacking didn't take too long and then a young lieutenant showed her the factory. Leia was surprised and excited by the perfect organization and the quality of the numerous machines. Though it was cold and partially dirty, Thrawn had his stuff and equipment in order. Workers in their orange/white, Imperial overalls lined up during the inspection and Leia was also allowed to see the inside of a finished Defender. She wasn't an expert in such matters, but it looked like a fine ship. Then she started the interviews in a tiny office. At first those of the people who had filed the complaint, and then the rest. In the end she found that working conditions were hard, but not unreasonably so. The only thing that really bothered her was the use of Wookie slaves. Wookies were tall, hairy, loud and sometimes smelly aliens that were really strong, but they were sentient beings!

She would not meet Thrawn before tomorrow morning, where she would give him a copy of her report and leave. So she spend her evening typing; looking down at a far too small screen, while eating synthesized food that tasted horribly like card-board. At least sleep would come easy after such an exhausting day.

11AM, NEXT MORNING

"Thank you."

He took the data-crystal, put it inside a datapad and then skimmed over its content.

"You have an impressive factory here."

"Hardly." He eyed her. "And it is also not the reason you are here."

"No." Leia shifted nervously on her chair.

" 'The Queen of Naboo' belongs to Lord Vader. I saw it on the Holo. I don't understand… I know very little about his Lordship, but I would like to know …"

"Princess." The Chiss held up a hand to silence her. "Sometimes there lies wisdom in not knowing."

Suddenly, the whole room was shaking. The light turned to a darker shade and the alarm squeaked.

"Red alert." A computer voice announced. "Red alert. Enemy attack. All men to their stations."

The Chiss looked at Leia. "Follow me."

They made their way to the headquarter, while the building was under fire, shaking, energy sparks everywhere. Stromtroopers were running past them, as were pilots in black. Probably on their way to the Defenders.

"Admiral!" A young officer said, obviously relieved by the sight of his superior.

"Status update."

"Rebels, Sir." Another, female officer explained from the side. The Chimaera can't stop all their fighters! We are under heavy attack. We have 12 TIE Defenders ready, or ready-enough to engage the enemy." She explained. "But we are brutally outnumbered. She pointed to the display."

Thrawn leaned over another display, typed in some passcode and then the computer voice was heard again.

"Self-Destruct confirmed. 15 minutes to execute."

The Admiral went to an intercom station.

"This is Grand Admiral Thrawn. Abandon site. I repeat, Abandon site. Destination: Meeting point Alpha. The Chimaera will provide fire protection."

Leia's eye grew wide.

"We are retreating?!"

"This is not politics, Princess. A good tactician knows when a fight cannot be won and if he is not too proud, he will retreat." He snatched a data-crystal from the command chair. "To prepare for another battle." He added then and looked around one final time.

"Come with me."

Guarded by several stormtroopers, they rushed to the hanger and quickly boarded a lambda-class shuttle. The two pilots started the take-off right away and Thrawn and Leia buckled up in the back.

"How did they know about the location of the construction site?"

"Good question. One I would like to ask you." Leia's eyes flashed with anger. He did not really think that SHE had betrayed him, did he?!

"Admiral, I am a Senator of the Galactic Empire and a loyal subject of his majesty. Besides, it would be rather stupid to endanger my life like this, wouldn't you agree?"

He did not answer and looked out of the window.

Suddenly, there was an explosion and Leia saw the factory go up in flames and smoke underneath them. Then she studied the Chiss.

"Sorry about the factory." She said.

"No need. It was time for a bigger one."

Another two hits and the shuttle was spinning out of control.

_Oh no!_

Leia held on to her seat-belt and heard the pilots trying to regain control. When she looked out of the window, she saw the snowy mountains of Vandor-1 coming closer.

_So, this was it? The end of Senator Leia Organa? She was too young to die!_

Everything was moving too fast and the planet grew closer and closer. The inevitable was going to happen. They would crash-land!

They had to …Everything went black.

**TBC**

**A/N:** OK, that took a bit longer than expected…. And yes, the conversation between Leia and Thrawn is a bit like the conversation between Luke and Obi-Wan. ;)

**Chapter 2**

_The Force hates me!_ Leia thought as she looked up at the darkening sky. Her head hurt from the explosion and there was a constant ringing in her ears. She could see the smoke coming up from further below the mountain. Probably the remainder of the shuttle. There were pieces of it scattered everywhere and somehow she had survived. She had no recollection of what had happened. Perhaps the shuttle had had some kind of safety backup for the passenger part, or she had just been lucky, but somehow her part of the shuttle must have been ejected before they had hit the mountain.

Leia looked up again. _How long had she been out? Six hours? Perhaps longer as it was getting dark …. and it would rain soon. On top of everything!_

It was bitterly cold here in the mountains, and there was no real shelter. The shuttle parts were broken, the metal was extremely cold and all of it was far too small to offer real shelter. And even if there had been a part big enough … She could barely feel her legs.

Leia pushed herself up, but when she tried to move her right leg, it hurt like hell. It was broken. She was sure of it.

_What about Thrawn? Was he somewhere here too? Was he even alive?_

"Thrawn?" She yelled once. "Anybody here?"

No response, except for some thunder booming somewhere in the distance. _Great. A storm was the last thing she needed now!_

She sat down again and leaned against one of the many dark-burned shuttle pieces.

_What now?_

Leia held her blaster close to her chest and with the other hand brought a com to her mouth.

"Can anyone hear me?"

Static.

"This is Princess Leia, if anyone can hear me, please come in."

Again. Nothing. A part of her had expected some funny remark of her personal guard or the Chimera to answer right away; promising a safe and quick return, but there was nothing. Perhaps she was too far up, or the upcoming storm jammed everything or – a terrifying thought - they had already gone…

Then the rain started. She had no choice. She had to leave this place, or she would die of hyperthermia. Leia pulled herself up again. She couldn't even feel her legs anymore and felt like throwing up. This wasn't good.

_Go, Leia! Go! Now!_

Her hair was soaked and rain crashed into her face, making it hard to see. Not that it mattered much. She had no idea where she was anyway…

And then, suddenly, a branch broke under her foot, and she fell. Leia let out a hoarse cry of pain when she fell on her already battered leg. Then the world turned black again.

"Princess?"

Slowly she opened her eyes and then jerked back.

"Bloody hell!" she yelled, either because of the shock or because of the pain she felt when she tried to pull away.

"Language, Princess," Thrawn said calmly and looked down on her, a small smile on his face.

"I see the misfortune of others pleases you."

"Quite the contrary, I am pleased to see you alive," he said. Leia wasn't sure if she believed him. The galaxy was an unfair place. The evil War Lord didn't have a scratch and she, the young Princess on her first senatorial away mission, was crippled!

"Are you bleeding?" He asked suddenly.

"Bleeding? I … Actually, I don't know..." She touched herself and checked for injuries. "I don't feel a thing. But I don't think I'm bleeding."

"That does not mean much. Let me see."

"What?"

"Do not be difficult, Princess and let me check."

Leia took a deep breath and tried to relax, while Thrawn methodically ran his hands over her body.

_This was SO weird!_ She looked up at the sky again. At least she hadn't been out for too long this time.

When he unzipped her jacket a dark stain of crimson showed on the white fabric of her T-shirt. Without asking this time, he pulled her shirt up and found a deep cut that went all the way from her belly button down to her hip.

"Sith!" She raised her head. "I didn't feel that!"

"That is typical in this climate. Do not move."

Thrawn took out a water bottle, put the flashlight between his teeth and poured some water over the wound.

"The first aid-kit went up in flames, but you are lucky it is this cold. You do not feel the pain as much and it reduces the bleeding."

Without a word, he pulled her T-shirt back down and then touched her leg. Leia screamed.

"Your leg is broken. It has to be reset…."

Yes, she knew that. And she knew that it would hurt. A lot.

"Just do it." she hissed.

"Hold still." He said and then gave her a piece of wood to bite upon.

"One, two," He didn't wait for three and just pulled at two. Leia screamed and bit hard on the wood. She then breathed heavily and lay down again. Tears on her cheeks.

"No need to thank me." The Chiss said dryly.

It was getting dark and his flashlight was more or less the only thing visible by now.

"Any ideas how we're going to get out of here?"

"Further down I saw a corrugated iron hut," he said, and aimed the flashlight at the right path.

"Good, but I can't move…. "

"You have to."

"I can't! I can't feel my leg anymore and even after it has been reset. Moving will make it worse!"

"You do not strike me as a person that admits defeat so easily." He said and held out a hand. "You are right, but you have no choice. If you stay here, you will die and I cannot carry you all the way down. The way is too long, too steep and too wet. We would both die."

The rain was still pouring down on them.

Leia sighed and then nodded.

"I understand."

Then her expression became one of furious determination.

"Good."

He helped her up and put an arm around her waist.

"Let's go then."

Each and every step felt like a monumental effort. There was pain and suffering and tears and more sobs. And it was so cold. Leia subconsciously remembered her survival- and interrogation-training. Both of them felt like a walk in the park compared to this. Leia had no idea how long they had walked and how much longer the journey would be. But it felt like a long, long walk. An eternity of struggle. The rain had stopped now, but it had been replaced by wind and the young woman started to shiver uncontrollably. It was too much. She was too tired.

"I can't. I just can't…. do this anymore." She hushed.

No. No more. Leia just wanted to let go, to go numb ...

She fell down and then felt two strong arms sweeping her up again.

_No, not that!_

She did not want him to carry her. He should just leave her. It was no use anyway. But she was too tired to object.

Leia couldn't remember all of what had followed, just that his body had been warm and that she had more or less drifted in and out of consciousness a couple of times until they had reached the hut.

"We have arrived, Princess." He said as he put her down.

Leia studied the hut through half-closed eyes. It was cold here, but warmer than outside and it didn't feature much furniture. Just a wooden table, a bank, four chairs, two open shelves with pots and glasses and a couple of blankets and there was a fireplace. The Chiss seemed satisfied though and went right to the fireplace. It didn't take him long before the first warm orange flames began to rise. Then he turned around and studied her.

"Take off your clothes."

"What?!" Leia laughed.

"Take off your clothes. You are hypothermic. You need to warm up and soaked clothes will not help."

"I am not stripping in front of you!"

He shook his head and all of sudden began to undress, either to show her how unreasonable her behaviour was, or because he had to warm up himself. Probably both.

Leia stared at him.

_Oh God…_

He undressed until he stood bare-chested and in black boxers in front of the fire and he certainly had no reason to be shy. The light from the fireplaced cast some very favourable shadows over his back muscles and when he turned around, her eyes were captivated by the impressive sculpturing of his stomach and chest muscles. There were innumerable scars on the smooth, blue skin too. Most of them older, light-blue and almost faded.

_Oh Gosh… He probably trained every day to look like this. How did he find the time?_

And yes, he was handsome. But the scars also reminded Leia of dangerous his job was and of how little she knew of him.

He then walked over to the shelves and warped up in a warm blanket.

"With all due respect, Princess. Strip."

"No."

"You are wet and cold and need medical attention."

He threw her a blanket too.

"You do it, or I will."

"Have you lost your mind?!"

_Would he really do it? Come over and undress her?! By force? Leia wasn't sure how to feel about that. Should she be scared?_

"I will not repeat myself, your highness." He said in that military voice that excepted no opposition.

She glared at him.

_Who was he to tell her to 'strip'?_

"If it helps you, I will turn around."

"Oh, how _very noble_ of you!" She spat. Yes, when pushed into a corner, Leia attacked.

"And next you will probably offer to '_exchange body heat_' to keep me warm?!"

He actually laughed.

"No."

"Good! Because I wouldn't have done it!" Embarrassed, she stared at the ceiling. _That would also have been one of the trashiest pick-up lines ever!_ Like in one of those crappy house-wives' novels. She doubted he knew them….

At any other moment, the thought would have amused her. But not now.

Strip…

_She couldn't undress here! She just couldn't! Not with him being in the same room! This was nothing her governess had prepared her for! She was a Princess! She should not do this! Undress in front of a man! A man that was not her husband and that she barely knew! A man that had, most likely, no morals and principles and that was not totally unappealing. At least physically. But…_

_Damn it!_

"Turn around." She whispered finally.

Undressing wasn't that easy. Her fingers were stiff and cold and clumsy and everything took exceptionally long.

How to open a zipper if you couldn't feel your fingers?

"How come you are not as affected by the cold?" The Princess enquired.

"I was not unconscious for as long as you were. And my species evolved on an ice-planet." The Chiss explained while looking into the fire.

"So you weren't cold?"

"I was. I still am. I would freeze to death out there just like you would. It would only take longer."

When Leia had finally pulled off her wet shirt and trousers, socks and bra, she glanced at him. Well, if he had kept his underpants, so would she. Leia quickly wrapped herself in the blanket and then wrung out her clothes, creating a small water puddle on the wooden floor. She spread them out on the stools and then limped forward, joining Thrawn at the fireplace.

"Done." She said shyly.

"And was it that bad?"

"No."

"My skin hurts." She said after a while. "It's like someone is torturing me with pins and needles."

He added another log to the fire.

"That is a good sign." He explained. "Your circulation returns."

Leia bit her lip.

"It really hurts."

"I know. I fell into a frozen lake when I was young. It was pain like no other."

"How did you get out?"

"I did not. I was in shock and I had to be reanimated, right there on the ice. My brother jumped in and saved my life. He was older and physically fitter than me."

Leia rocked back and forth a little, trying to generate more heat from the movement. Suddenly, the rain started again and they could hear it drumming on the metallic roof.

Then Thrawn got up.

"I saw an old first aid-kit in the shelf. We should try it."

The first-aid kid looked old and dusty.

"It is seven years out-of-date." He stated before opening it. "But that does not mean much and, apparently, most of the things are still sealed." He pulled out some scissors, bandages and bacta patches, before finding the really good stuff. An old-fashioned med-scanner and an osteogenic stimulator.

"Look what we have here."

He switched it on and the lights on the device shimmered in a bright blue and white.

"Lie down."

_How she hated it to be ordered around!_

"What? Are you a doctor now too?"

"No, but this looks pretty straight forward. As it should, being part of a first aid kit."

Leia obeyed, and he scanned her leg and then attached the triangular stimulator.

"Do not move for the next hour. And your leg should be as good as new."

He looked down at Leia and reached for the blanket.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Covering your stomach-wound with bacta patches."

_Yes, that was certainly a good idea. If it weren't for the fact that she was naked!_

He smiled.

"Do you not trust me?" He asked.

"No, I don't!"

"Wise decision. But your wound has to be treated."

Without waiting for an allowance he pulled her blanket down to her hips, examining the wound.

"It looks worse now. And the bleeding started again due to the warmth," he informed her, but Leia didn't hear a thing. She was nervous and her mind was on fever. _He could see her naked breasts!_ And when the comparatively cold air hit her skin, she felt her nipples stiffen.

_Oh God, what must he be thinking?_

Her heartbeat quickened until she could actually hear it.

She forced herself to remain calm when she felt his hands on her torso, tracing her injury with gentle deliberation.

"Does this hurt?"

"No," she said and swallowed. His touch felt good….sinfully so. Warm and soft. She wondered how it would feel on her breasts.

_Had she totally lost her mind?!_

Leia shook her head and then focused on the wooden ceiling. She could not look at him now. She would die of shame.

"It will be a bit cold." He said and then attached the patches.

"Bacta is a wonderful thing. I would have a lot scars less if my people would know it."

He covered her with the blanket again and then sat down next to her.

"Thank you," Leia said, her cheeks flushed, not only because of the fire.

"You are welcome."

Leia turned her head and looked into the fire, the pain grew smaller by the second. Both in her leg and on her stomach. And she became tired. Then she looked at him. His hair was still wet and tiny drops of water ran down his face and neck. She could still feel where he had touched her.

She bit her lower lip, his nearness was clouding her mind. Or the medication.

"Are there more things your people don't have? Or is it just the bacta?"

"Quite a few. For example, we do not have droids."

No droids? Leia could barely imagine it. Products would have to be made by manual labour, making them very expensive, which in turn lowered the general standard of living. She knew very little about the Chiss, but as far as she knew, they were an advanced space-travelling culture.

"How come?"

"Foreign policy for the most part. Bacta was not a human invention, and most droids would not work the way they do now if Humanity would have avoided alien contact as the Chiss did."

"I see."

_Interesting. So the Chiss lived more or less in a self-imposed isolation._

She felt her eyelids grow heavy and then, finally, fell asleep.

When Leia woke up, she felt something warm pressing against her. It was the soft, hot, smoothness of skin on skin. There was someone behind her, someone that had an arm around her waist and pressed his body against her back; his face buried in her hair. Fearing that any movement would wake him, Leia stayed perfectly still, not even daring to breathe.

_What had happened?_

Slowly, as the tendrils of sleep left her mind, she remembered. The crash-landing, Thrawn, the hut and how she had fallen asleep, right here, beside the fire. She assumed they both had… She slightly turned to check that the man behind her was indeed Thrawn. It was, and looking at his sleeping face surely had its merits, but… her troubled body was also desperately aware of his presence…

She was… nervous? Anxious? Afraid? It was none of those and all of them. His skin was smooth and the heat emanating from it was pretty intense. Or was she just imagining things? Her pulse quickened.

However she had ended up here, she had to leave. She tried to pull away but found that it was not that easy. His arm lay heavy around her waist and the only thing she had achieved in the end was that her small body was now curled up against him so that they could easily…

_Sith, Sith, Sith!_

As if feeling her panic, he pulled both of his arms around her back and pulled her into an embrace. Leia had no choice as to rest her head on his neck, where she felt a strong, solid heartbeat. He smelled very masculine and Leia bit her lip, closed her eyes and listened to his rough, strong breath as he slept. Or was he awake, listening, waiting, as she was?

_Waiting for what?_

_You know what._ An inner voice said.

She pulled away and focused on his lips.

_Don't!_

But the urge was strong. She could make it light, so light he would not feel it.

She slowly closed the distance and when she kissed him, his mouth easily claimed hers in a long and slow kiss... dark and sweet at the same time.

_Oh no…_

Leia turned to jelly and her hands moved sensually over the smooth, blue skin of his arms. Over those hard, sculptured muscles, over his shoulders, his neck up into his thick hair. He tasted male and musky and she felt him shudder when she opened her lips to him.

_Oh God, this was so good._

_Sith, what was she doing?_

She pulled back and gasped for air.

"I shouldn't do this." she breathed. "I should leave."

His blazed crimson red eyes met her's.

"Yes, you probably should." His fingers traced the line of her cheekbone, her jaw, and his large hand cupped her face when he pulled her back down again. This time he kissed her harder, darker, more intensely than before, and a low moan escaped her mouth. There was something between them. They were like two pieces of a puzzle that just clicked together. They barely knew each other, yet they fit. This just felt so right – almost…. _inevitable._

And then the comlink peeped.

They both froze and stared at each other.

Leia was breathless, shaking all over.

_Should they answer that call?_

The Chiss turned the comlink off and put it aside.

"They will return tomorrow."

Leia nodded.

"Tomorrow sounds good."

"Now, where were we before we were interrupted?" The Chiss questioned seductively as his hand moved down her back, over her hip and then further down, to cup her bottom, pushing her closer.

"I think we kissed."

"Right."

He kissed her hard then and this time Leia felt her nipple pebble under his palm, he rolled over it and squeezed it between his fingers and when his mouth replaced his hand, a hoarse cry escaped her lips while her hands reached down into his black hair, holding him in place.

_Oh God!_ The feeling was so intense, Leia felt her body arching up against him. But as soon as her breast was freed from his torment, she longed for a repetition.

She closed her eyes and could already feel the wetness between her legs.

_Oh no…_

The Chiss worshipped her skin with his mouth and soon the young woman underneath him lost track of time, until he slid his hands under the elastic band of her panties, sliding them slowly over her hips and down her thighs. Leia shivered. She was terrified, yet at the same time, she tingled in anticipation.

Her mother had told her once that her virginity was a treasure she had to save for her wedding night. For her husband. But…who would that be? Some aristocrat her parents would choose? Never.

Leia moaned when she felt his hard cock against her wet folds, slowly pressing against her most sensitive point, which tore a hushed whimper from her throat.

"_Thrawn…Oh…."_

Yes, he was the one. From the first time she had heard his name, seen his face, heard his voice, she had known. Somehow she had always known.

Their kisses became more desperate and Leia felt her legs opening further for him, hips moving forward to him, welcoming him, until, finally, she felt the tip of his cock against her entrance…

Yes… nature could no longer be denied.

She loved him. What a terrible realization.

_Was this how Padmé Amidala had felt for her Jedi?_

She too knew that a liaison with an Imperial Grand Admiral was wrong. For as Senator as much as for a Crown Princess of Alderaan. Yet, she didn't care.

She could still smell the scent of his body on her own, and the memory of his taste and his skin on hers was still too fresh to be objective. Maybe she was too young, too inexperienced to know what real love was?

No, this wasn't just a fancy – she loved him. And she had said it last night. Yet, only in her mind.

The young Princess practically floated to her room and then quickly stepped under the shower, before changing into her favourite PJs.

"Someone's in a suspiciously good mood after just barely snatching from the jaw of death." She heard a dark voice from the door.

"Father!" Leia smiled and looked up from her bed at the elder man.

"I am happy to see you alive and well, my daughter. You had us worried."

"Where is mother?"

"Still working…How are you?"

"I'm fine, father. Really. It was just a little adventure."

Bail Organa studied his daughter. She was practically glowing from within.

"So you liked it on Vandor-1?"

"Yes. It was fascinating and well, I guess I'm still a bit high from all the adrenaline."

_Obviously._ And did that surprise him? He hated seeing Anakin in her, but at times like this it was hard not to see the resemblance. The hero with no fear. He had loved adventures and battles. Bail Organa had hoped that Leia had outgrown this part of her DNA by now, clearly, he had been wrong.

"What about the TIE defender? And your report?"

"Literally gone up in flames, but I will write a new one. The accusations were mostly unfounded and the TIE-Defender is a fine ship. But the construction site was far too small and obviously not very well protected." She took a sip of hot chocolate.

There was a forced smiled on the viceroy's face.

"Perhaps you are a bit too smitten with Thrawn's project after he saved your life."

"Probably." She smiled and her smile made his blood run cold.

"You like him."

"I do." She confessed. "He is a fascinating man."

"Leia…" _Of all the men in the universe! Perhaps it was not Anakin's DNA he should worry about._

"…I hope you're not serious. Grand Admiral Thrawn is ... not someone who deserves your affection." He said finally.

Leia lifted an eyebrow.

"Isn't that a bit harsh from someone who is otherwise so liberal? Life just isn't black and white, father and once we grow up, we find that even our idols stand on clay feet." She smiled at him again. Just like Padmé had smiled at him once.

_Just like Padmé…_

THE END

A/N: Done! The real hard part of this fanfiction was how to make Leia kiss him. I tried several things and the "She wakes up next to him" method probably wasn't the best, but the fastest solution. All in all, this was supposed to be a short story.

Perhaps they will see each other again before the Space-Wales happen, perhaps not. Bail Organa will probably do all he can to keep them apart. :)

Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!


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